How to fry frozen okra in air fryer? Breaded and plain cut okra

It is a breeze to cook frozen okra in air fryer. Typically okra needs to be cooked thoroughly to get rid of the unappetizing sliminess. The frozen okra is particularly slimier. But, once you make okra in an air fryer, you will never return to any alternate cooking way.

Okra is an edible seeded pod, known by various names around the world. Lady's fingers, ochro, gumbo, bhindi, quimbombo, are to name a few. In Indian cuisine, okra has a very special place. We love our bhindi sabzi with roti. It is hard to find fresh okra in the grocery stores. So, I started leaning toward the frozen ones.

This post deals with how you can make cut okra and breaded okra in an air fryer.

More air fryer recipes:

• Frozen potstickers in air fryer
• Best way to cook frozen garlic bread in air fryer
• Air fryer spaghetti squash: Low Carb, Quick and simple!
• Frozen spring rolls in air fryer: Quick, easy, and crispy!

Variations of frozen okra available in the market and ways to cook them.

Whole okra:

It is best to cook on the stove for making any kind of stir fry or sabzi. Just let them thaw and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cut and cook the way you want. You can make them into a stir fry in a pan, roast in the oven, saute in an instant pot, deep fry, or air fry.

The plain cut okra:

The key to cooking perfect okra sabzi or stir fry okra is to wash and dry it well. It hates water. There should not be any water on the okra. It becomes super slimy to cut and handle. And never add water to cooking okra, for best results. The cut okra is already exposed to water when frozen. On cooking, the sliminess does go away, but they are no match to the fresh okra sabzi. Ever since I got the air fryer, I just air fry them for 10 minutes before tossing them into the prepared masala and they make the perfect bhindi masala or simple bhindi ki sabzi.

Breaded cut okra:

 It is a southern style to batter, spice, and crumb coat the cut okra, and deep fry them. I kind of enjoy them the most. But who wants to take the hassle of deep-frying, when we have a quicker, easier, and healthier option to air fry frozen breaded okra.

Why should you make frozen okra in air fryer?

1. Quick and easy:

It is super easy to make okra in air fryer. We all are super busy with our lives. The air fryer can make our lives easier. It is one of the best hands-off cooking machines. Deep frying the breaded okra requires active cooking on top of being unhealthy. The air fryer does not take much time to preheat like oven. Baking them is also a good option but not as quick and good as the air-fried frozen okra.

There is no need to thaw the frozen okra to cook them in the air fryer. We can put them straight in the air fryer for cooking.

2. Frozen fried okra in air fryer is healthier and tastes as good as the fried ones:

Making frozen breaded okra in an air fryer involves very less oil. You do not need to use any oil if you do not want to.

3. Even and consistent cooking every time

Air fryers are very reliable. Once you figure out the perfect cooking time and temperature setting to air fry frozen okra, it will give you consistent results every time, unlike stovetop cooking. When we make okra in an air fryer, we do not have to worry about them being cooked unevenly or raw from the inside.

4. They turn out crispy and delicious.

And not to forget that the air fryer gives the best results. The air fryer okra is crispy and delicious. Forget about the slimy and mushy okra.  

In this recipe, I will demonstrate how to make frozen okra in an air fryer using the plain cut okra and breaded southern style okra. Use whichever brand is available to you. Let us first start with the plain cut okra.

 

Ingredients for air frying frozen plain cut okra

1. Frozen okra:

I have used 12 oz Kroger cut okra in this recipe.

2. Vegetable Oil:

Use any oil that you like. We are going to need very little of that. 2 teaspoon to be precise.

3. Spices:

Spices are up to you. You can use what you like. I have kept it straight and simple. Salt, freshly crushed black pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. I also use some sweet onions and fresh diced tomatoes with a dash of lime in the end while serving.

How to air fry frozen okra ( plain cut ) in air fryer

Step 1 Prep and air fry the okra

In a bowl combine the oil with all the spices that you wish to add. Mix them well and then empty the frozen cut okra pack into the bowl. Turn the content using a spoon to coat the okra with the oil and spice mix.

Then transfer it to the basket of the air fryer and spread them evenly. Air fry at 400 ⁰F for 18-20 minutes. If you like it a little crispy from the outside air fry them for 20 minutes, else fr a tender evenly cooked through okra, air fry at 400 degrees for 18 minutes. Pull out the basket and give them a shake midway through the air frying duration.

Step 2 Serve the air fried okra

I like to chop half a sweet onion and a fresh tomato. Mix them with the air-fried okra and serve with a dash of lime. It makes a perfect side dish. It is one of the many ways to serve it. Else you can just serve it as a humble side dish. It will not disappoint you.

You can also fill it in tacos with your favorite toppings, dipping sauce, cheese, and salsa.

Ingredient’s for making frozen breaded okra in air fryer

1. Frozen breaded okra:

I have used 12 oz of breaded okra straight from the freezer. You can comfortably make 2 packs in an 8 qt air fryer, but if you have a smaller air fryer, stick to making 1 pack at a time. The key is not to overlap the food in the air fryer. Especially when you are looking to get a crispy fried texture on your food.

2. Vegetable oil:

You can use the vegetable oil of your choice. I have used 2 teaspoon of avocado oil here.

The process to make frozen breaded okra in air fryer

I simply slit open the pack of frozen okra and add 2 teaspoon of cooking oil straight into the bag. Then I hold the slit with my hands to temporarily seal the pack. I shake the contents for 5 seconds so that oil coats the breaded okra evenly. Then empty the packet straight into the air fryer basket. No need to dirty a bowl for coating the okra with oil.

If you are going to use the cooking spray, in that case also, just empty the pack straight into the air fryer basket and spray with the oil.

Then air fry them at 370 ⁰F for 22 minutes for a perfectly crispy air fried breaded okra. Do not forget to give them a shake halfway through the cooking time.

Serve as your heart desires. These are crispy from the outside and tender and thoroughly cooked from the inside.

Do not use a higher temperature for air frying the breaded okra as it cooks the batter ( breading) from the outside and the interior remains a bit slimy and undercooked.

Tips

• Put the frozen cut okra or the breaded okra in the air fryer in a single layer, such that there are gaps for air circulation. Never overcrowd or overlap the food in the basket.
• Do not forget to shake the air frying okra halfway through the cooking time. It ensures even cooking on all sides.
• All air fryers are made differently. So, to get the same results with two different sized or designed air fryers, there will be a differential of a few seconds to a few minutes. Pull out the air fryer basket before the lowest given cook time in a recipe and see for yourself, how much more time do you need.
• Reduce 2-3 minutes from the air frying time if you are looking for a tender instead of crispy okra.

 

FAQs

I hope you enjoy making the frozen okra in air fryer and it becomes your go-to method to cook frozen food. Share it with friends if you find it helpful.

Till then,

Make it quick and delicious!

Air fryer frozen okra recipe card